Top Foundation Funders

1. Open Society Institute $10.2 M
2. Oak Foundation $4.1 M
3. Ford Foundation $4.0 M
4. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $3.5 M
5. Foundation to Promote Open Society $3.5 M
6. Shapiro-Silverberg Foundation $2.7 M
7. NoVo Foundation $2.6 M
8. Tides Foundation $2.3 M
9. New Israel Foundation $2.3 M
10. Moriah Fund $2.1 M
11. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $2.0 M
12. Euro-Mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders $1.8 M
13. Hivos $1.7 M
14. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $1.5 M
15. Rockefeller Brothers Fund $1.1 M
16. African Women's Development Fund $953.0 K
17. Carnegie Corporation of New York $948.0 K
18. The Global Fund for Women $909.9 K
19. Arcus Foundation $865.0 K
20. The Coca-Cola Foundation $800.1 K
21. Klarman Family Foundation $775.0 K
22. International Development Research Centre $666.5 K
23. C&A Foundation $597.0 K
24. The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation $522.5 K
25. Fund for Global Human Rights $518.9 K
26. M = Millions

Foundation Funding by Issue

• Equality Rights and Freedom from Discrimination

  $16,280,648 (28%)
  166 Grants (23%)

• Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

  $9,822,719 (17%)
  90 Grants (12%)

• Sexual and Reproductive Rights

  $5,675,484 (10%)
  19 Grants (3%)

• Human Rights, General

  $4,895,435 (9%)
  75 Grants (10%)

• Migration and Displacement

  $4,315,104 (8%)
  64 Grants (9%)

• Freedom from Violence

  $3,881,227 (7%)
  62 Grants (8%)

• Access to Justice/Equality Before the Law

  $2,984,156 (5%)
  34 Grants (5%)

• Expression and Information Rights

  $2,380,407 (4%)
  104 Grants (14%)

• Economic and Labor Rights

  $2,220,746 (4%)
  16 Grants (2%)

• Education, religion, and culture

  $2,005,759 (3%)
  39 Grants (5%)

• Environmental and Resource Rights

  $1,386,692 (2%)
  19 Grants (3%)

• Health and Well-being Rights

  $995,901 (2%)
  31 Grants (4%)

• Civic and Political Participation

  $604,197 (1%)
  12 Grants (2%)

Issue totals include foundation funding that could be identified as meant to address a specific issue. In order to provide unique totals and avoid double-counting, each foundation grant has been assigned to exactly one issue category within the human rights taxonomy.

Foundation Funding by Population

• Women & Girls

  $20,155,241 (35%)
  227 Grants (31%)

• Migrants & Refugees

  $7,661,278 (13%)
  107 Grants (15%)

• Children & Youth

  $3,524,860 (6%)
  88 Grants (12%)

• Human Rights Defenders

  $2,558,171 (4%)
  146 Grants (20%)

• LGBTQI

  $1,281,544 (2%)
  37 Grants (5%)

• People with Disabilities

  $770,018 (1%)
  12 Grants (2%)

• Indigenous Peoples

  $109,473 (0%)
  5 Grants (1%)

Population totals include foundation funding that could be identified as meant to benefit a specific group. Grants may serve multiple populations and would therefore be counted in more than one category.

Foundation Funding by Strategy

• Advocacy, Systems Reform and Implementation

  $28,191,563 (49%)
  349 Grants (48%)

• Capacity-building and Technical Assistance

  $7,732,734 (13%)
  88 Grants (12%)

• Coalition-building and Collaboration

  $6,884,542 (12%)
  41 Grants (6%)

• Research and Documentation

  $6,622,777 (12%)
  55 Grants (8%)

• Litigation and Legal Aid

  $3,605,422 (6%)
  37 Grants (5%)

• Media and Technology

  $3,326,031 (6%)
  65 Grants (9%)

• Grassroots Organizing

  $1,111,811 (2%)
  23 Grants (3%)

• Arts and Culture

  $870,744 (2%)
  23 Grants (3%)

• Security and Resilience

  $543,630 (1%)
  3 Grants (0%)

• Scholarships and Travel

  $86,512 (0%)
  44 Grants (6%)

Strategy totals include foundation funding that could be identified as supporting a specific strategy. Grants may employ multiple strategies and would therefore be counted in more than one category.

Related Resources

• Funding at the Intersection of Governance and Sustainable Development to Achieve Human Rights
• Transitional Human Rights Work in Syria: A Pilot Initiative Embedding Human Rights Norms in Nascent Governance Structures